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Smoky Eggplant and Bacon Pasta

Eggplants are a great vehicle for many different flavours, but they can also be provide a unique flavour themselves using their own smoke. Cooking them directly over a flame burns the skin, permeating the flesh with that beautiful smoky flavour that you find in a great baba ganouj. I use that technique here to create a flavourful pasta sauce, accented with fresh oregano and the extra smoke of bacon then filled out with chunky zucchinis and squash. You can also omit the bacon for a vegetarian pasta which still packs a flavour punch.

Smoky Eggplant and Bacon Pasta

Recipe Type: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants

2 tomatoes

4 cloves garlic, skin on

a good handful of fresh oregano leaves

1/2 lemon

5 medium zucchinis, diced into chunky pieces (or squash, or a mix)

250g streaky bacon (about 12 small rashers)

450g dried spiral pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Quarter the tomatoes, then toss in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes and garlic to a casserole dish and place in the oven to roast until starting to collapse (about 30 minutes).

Meanwhile, prick the eggplants all over with the tip of a knife. Cook directly over a flame (e.g. gas stove), turning occasionally, until the skin is burnt all over and blistering (10-15 minutes). Add to the casserole dish along with the tomatoes for the final half of the roasting time (by the end the eggplant should be completely collapsed).

When the roasting has 10 minutes remaining, you should start to prepare the other components. Start by putting on a large pot of salted water so it will be ready to boil the pasta.

Next, heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and fry the bacon. When done, set it aside on a sheet of kitchen paper to cool, then slice into small strips.

Keep the pan on the heat, and use the bacon fat to fry the zucchini until just cooked (about 3-4 minutes). Set aside with bacon.

By now your eggplant, tomato and garlic should be ready. Remove them from the oven and set aside for a couple of minutes to cool a little. This is your cue to start cooking the pasta, which should take about 10 minutes.

As the pasta cooks, peel the eggplants, tomatoes and garlic. The skin should easily come away if they are properly cooked. Roughly dice and add them to a small food processor along with the juice of the lemon and oregano. Process into a sauce, tasting and adding seasoning as required.

Return your large frying pan to the stove on a low heat. Add the cooked zucchini and bacon so that it begins to warm. By now your pasta should be ready, add it to the pan followed finally by the sauce. Stir gently to coat the pasta with the sauce and warm through.

Serve immediately with a final touch of cracked black pepper.

Notes

This recipe involves several steps that overlap. The key is to make good use of the vegetable roasting and pasta cooking times to prepare your other ingredients.

You’ll need a large and deep pan to combine the pasta and sauce at the end, to save on washing you can use the same pan for the bacon and zucchini.